Deep well pump for viscous oil



INVENTOR.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W. N. SUTLIFF DEEP WELL PUMP FOR VISCOUS OIL Filed June 25, 1965 June 8, 1965 United States Patent 3,187,680 DEEP WELL PUT/E FOR VISCOUS 011. Wayne N. utlilf, 2931 Pierce Road, Bakersfield, Calif. Filed June 25, 1963, Ser. No. 290,507 4 Claims. (Cl. 103-155) This invention relates to the art of oil well production and particularly to production from wells in which the oil has a relatively high viscosity.

A recent increase in demand for oil of this type has resulted in considerable effort being directed to increasing the efiiciency of sucker rod operated deep well pumps when these are used in producing oil of a high viscosity. The major problem met with in this effort is speeding up the downstroke of the pump which tends to be greatly retarded by the tackiness of the oil.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a deep well pump having a novel power storage means for storing up power derived from the sucker rod during its upstroke and releasing said power during the downstroke of the sucker rod to offset the retarding action of the oil on the pump plunger.

Another object is to provide such a pump having a novel valve system which will facilitate the ready flow of viscous oil being handled by said pump.

Still another object is to provide such a valve system which eliminates the traveling valve commonly used in reciprocating deep well pumps and performs the functions thereof by a stationary valve.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects as Well as further objects and advantages will be made manitest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 (la and lb) is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, an upper portion of the pump being shown in FIG. la and a lower portion thereof being shown in FIG. lb, at the moment in the operation thereof when the plunger of the pump approaches the bottom of its downstroke.

FIG. 2 (2a and 2b) is a view similar to FIG. 1 and illustrates the parts of the pump as the plunger thereof approaches the upper end of its upstroke.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the invention is there diagrammatically illustrated as incorporated in a deep well pump having a tubular body 11 which is connected at its upper end by threads 12 with the internally threaded lower end of a string of pump tubing 13. The tubular body 11 has a transverse wall 14 located in a relatively intermediate position in said body, which is to say it is spaced downwardly from the upper end of said body and upwardly from the lower end thereof, said wall having a central bore 15. Mounted on the wall 14 is a relatively long seal sleeve 16 having a mounting nipple 17 with a slightly reduced outer diameter and externally threaded at its end, which nipple fits downwardly snugly in the bore and receives a nut 18 so as to coaxially mount the sleeve 16 on the transverse wall 14.

Secured by threads 19 to the lower end of tubular body 11 is a tubular pump barrel 29 the lower end of which has internal threads 25 into which a flanged screw plug 26 screws so as to close the lower end of said pump barrel. The upper end of plug 26 is provided with a diametral torque boss 27.

Vertically slidable in the pump barrel is a hollow pump plunger 28, the upper end of which terminates in a tapered portion 29 having a hole 30 and connecting with a plunger head 31 on which is provided an axial plunger stem 32 which makes a sliding liquid tight fit within the seal sleeve 16. The upper end of stem 32 is provided with threads 33 which screw into an internally threaded connector 34 provided on the lower end of a sucker rod string 35.

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The lower end of pump plunger 28 is internally threaded and is occupied by a flanged screw plug which is screwed upwardly therein. The plug 40 has a central bore 41 terminating upwardly in a beveled valve ball seat 42 and has a pair of notches 43 facing downward in diametrically opposite position which notches are dimensioned to fit over and make a torque transmitting connection with the torque boss 27 on the plug 26. Trapped in the plunger 28 so as to normally rest on the valve seat 42 is a valve ball 44.

Permanently united with the tubular body 11 in parallel contiguous relation therewith, as shown in FIG. la, is a tubular valve housing 45. The union of valve housing 45 with tubular body 11 is effected by the formation in said body and housing, above the transverse wall 14, of aligned holes 46 and 47 and, below said wall, of aligned holes 48 and 49 and the insertion of short metal tubes 50 and in said aligned holes and then welding said tubes to said body and housing.

Approximately midway between its upper and lower ends, the housing 45 has an internal annular flange 56 which forms an annular supporting shoulder for a valve seat forming sleeve 57 on which a discharge valve ball 58 is adapted to rest. The seat forming sleeve 57 is held downward against the flange 56 by a slotted tubular ball cage 59 which in turn is secured in place by a threaded plug 60 which is screwed downwardly into threads 61 provided within the upper end of the housing 45. The sleeve 59 has vertical slots 62 which are of sufiicient size and number as to provide ample communication between the discharge valve chamber 63 formed within the cage 59 and the horizontal connecting tube 50. Extending downwardly axially from the threaded plug 66 is a stud 64 which forms a limit stop for upward movement of valve ball 58 within the chamber 63.

Formed inwardly within a lower portion of the tubular valve housing 45 is an annular flange 65 having a frustoconical upper face and which is counterbored to form an annular shoulder against which a seat forming sleeve 71 nests when inserted upwardly within said flange. The lower portion of the housing 45 is internally threaded so that an externally threaded spanner nut 72 formed to fit the lower end of sleeve 71 may be screwed up into said housing to hold said sleeve in place against the flange 65. The interior space within the housing 45 between the valve seat sleeves 57 and 71 provides an intake valve chamber 73 which is occupied by an intake valve ball 74, the upward movement of which in said chamber is limited by a bar 75 mounted horizontally in said chamber.

Operation As before noted, the deep well pump 10 of the present invention is especially adapted for operation in pumping of oils having a heavy viscous character. When installed in a deep well at the lower end of the string of pump tubing 13, it is submerged deeply within the oil in the well. The pump 10 is operated by the vertical reciprocation of the sucker rod string 35 in the normal manner as by connection with a walking beam at the surface of the ground. This reciprocates the pump plunger 28 between a typically lowermost position as shown in FIG. 1 and a typically'uppermost position as shown in FIG. 2. On the downstroke, when the operation of the pump is first started, any fluid located between the plunger 28 and the plug 26 which closes the lower end of barrel 20 flows upwardly through the bore 41 in the plug 4%) in the lower end of the pump plunger and past the valve ball 44 resting on said plug so that, on the next upstroke of the plunger 28, a vacuum is formed in the vacuum chamber 76 formed by the lower portion of the pump barrel 20. This vacuum exerts a powerful downward force on the pump plunger 28 which helps to overcome the frictional forces in the pump Ill retarding the downstroke of the plunger and very materially shortens the time period required for this downstroke.

The vacuum in chamber 76 keeps the vacuum valve ball 44 seated during the downstroke of the plunger 28 which produces, a partial vacuurnin the pump chamber 77 provided by the upper portion of the tubular pump barrel 20 and the lower portion of the tubular body 11. This partial vacuum causes the well fluid intake valve ball 74 to be unseated and well fluid to flow upwardly past this ball through the intake 'valve'chamber 73 and the short connecting tube 55 and into the pump chamber 77. Each downstroke of the plunger thus causes a charge of well fluid to be sucked inwardly through the intake valve of the pump into the pump chamber 77 thereof. The discharge valve ball 58 is thus seated on the sleeve 57 during the downstroke of the pump plunger 28.

As the plunger 28 reaches the lower end of its downstroke and pauses briefly before starting its upstroke, the intake .valve ball 74 gravitates into a seated position, as shown in FIG. 2a, and, as the upstroke commences, well fluid occupying the pump chamber 77 and valve chamber 73 lifts valve ball 58 and is discharged upwardly through said valve and the connecting tube 50 into the upper portion of the tubular body 11 which connects directly with the pump tubing string 13,

The complete cycle of a downstroke and upstroke of the pump it) just described is repeated harmoniously, the pump sucking in a charge of well fluid with each downstroke and expelling this charge of well fiuid upwardly during the following upstroke into the lower end of the pump tubing string 13. During each upstroke a high vacuum is produced in the vacuum chamber '75 and the force of this vacuum is applied downwardly on the pump plunger 28 throughout the immediately following downstroke of the plunger thus very materially speeding up the rate of reciprocation of the pump. it) and increasing the efficiency thereof.

The valve 44 in the lower end of the pump plunger 28 is never unseated excepting when a sufiicient amount of well fluid leaks past the plunger 28 into the vacuum chamber 76 so that when the plunger reaches the bottom of its downstroke the vacuum in said chamber is entirely broken and a suflicient amount of fluid is present to open the valve 44 and pass upwardly through this into the hollow pump plunger 28 just before the latter starts on its next upstroke. The valve 44 is thus seen to have a scavenging action whereby well fluid is not allowed to accumulate in the vacuum chamber 76 although it is never possible to keep a certain amount of this leaking into said chamber between the pump barrel 20 and the plunger 28.

-The torque transmitting means comprising the boss 27 and notches 43 by which the plunger 28 may be lowered into non-rotatably interlocked relation with the plug 25. may be used for various purposes. One of these is to permit the sucker rod string 35 to be unscrewed from the upper end of the plunger stem 32 after the plunger 28 has thus been lowered into interlocking relation with the plug 26; j

Another advantage inherent in the deep well pump of the invention results from the opportunity given by the positioning of the valves outside of the main body of the pump to provide valve passages of such size as to greatly facilitate the fiow of the viscous well fluid being pumped while sucking this into the pump and also while discharging it upwardly into the lower end of the pump tubing string 13. This design also permits relatively simple and large sized ball valves to be used which are not subject to clogging or rapid wear as is, the case with somewhat smaller valves commonly used in pumps adapted particularly for handling relatively viscous oil.

' While only a single form of the invention has been diagrammatically illustrated for the purposeof disclosing the invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in this without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

The claims are:

1. In a deep well pump, the combination of: a tubular body, a downward extension of which provides a pump barrel; a transverse wall provided at an intermediate level in said body; plug means closing the lower end of said barrel; a plunger vertically slidable in said barrel to produce a vacuum between said plug means and said plunger on the upstroke of the latter, said vacuum substantially assisting the downstroke of said plunger which follows; a plunger stern extending upward from said plunger; stem sleeve means provided in said wall for slidably receiving said stem; means connecting to the upper end of said stain for reciprocating said plunger in said barrel, the space in said barrel above said plunger comprising a pump chamber; valve means for admitting well fluid into said pump chamber during a downstroke of said plunger and directing said fluid from said pump chamber into the upper portion of said tubular body located above said wall during the following upstroke of said plunger, said plunger being hollow, and communicating at its upper end with said pump chamber; and check valve means closing the lower end of said plunger 'to downward fluid flow therefrom but admitting fluid upwardly into said piunger from beneath the latter.

2. In a deep well pump, the combination of: a tubular body having means connecting its upper end to the lower end of a tubing string within which a sucker rod string is adapted to reciprocate; a transverse wall provided in said body, said wall having an axial bore therein, a pump barrel being provided by a downward extension of said tubular body below said wall; plug means closing the lower end of said barrel; a plunger vertically slidable in said barrel to produce a vacuum chamber between said plugtmeans and said plunger on the upstroke of the latter, the vacuum in said chamber substantially assisting the downstroke of the plunger which follows; a plunger stem extending upward from said plunger and slidable in said bore to form a substantially liquid tight fit therewith and connect at its upper end with said sucker rod string, the space in said body between said plunger and said wall comprising a pump chamber; valve means for admitting well fluid into said pump chamber during a downstroke of said plunger and directing said fluid from said pump chamber into said tubular body above said wall during the following upstroke of said plunger; and scavenger valve means communicating with said vacuum chamber at the bottorn'thereof at the end of the downstroke of said plunger to provide an escape passageway for fluid which has leaked into said chamber.

3. A pump as recited in claim 2 wherein said scavenger valve means is provided in said plunger for scavenging fluid from said vacuum chamber by permitting said fluid to escape upwardly through said plunger when the latter approaches the lower iimit of its downstroke.

4. In a deep well pump, the combination of: a tubular body, a downward extension of which provides a pump barrel; a transverse wall provided at an intermediate level in said body; plug means closing the lower end of said barrel; a plunger vertically siidable in said barrel to produce a vacuum between said plug means and said plunger on the upstroke of the latter, said vacuum substantially assisting the downstroke of said plunger which follows; a plunger stem extending upwardly from said plunger; stern sleeve means provided in said wall for slidably receiving said stem; means connecting to the upper end of said stem for reciprocating said plunger in said barrel, the space in said barrel above said plunger comprising a pump chamber; valve means for admitting well fluid into said pump chamber during a downstroke of said plunger and directing said fluid from said pump 5 6 chamber into the upper portion of said tubular body References Cited by the Examiner located above said wall during the fOHOWiHg upstroke P of said plunger, said plug means comprising a screw plug screwed upwardly into internal threads provided in said 113371834 4/20 Franc 103 155 barrel; and torque transmitting means on said plug and 5 said plunger for interlocking when said plunger rests on LAURENCE EFNER Primary Exammer' said plug to substantially prevent relative rotation between WARREN E. COLEMAN, ROBERT M. WALKER,

said plunger and said plug. Examiners. 

1. IN A DEEP WELL PUMP, THE COMBINATION OF: A TUBULAR BODY, A DOWNWARD EXTENSION OF WHICH PROVIDES A PUMP BARREL; A TRANSVERSE WALL PROVIDED AT AN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL IN SAID BODY; PLUG MEANS CLOSING THE LOWER END OF SAID BARREL; A PLUNGER VERTICALLY SLIDABLE IN SAID BARREL TO PRODUCE A VACUUM BETWEEN SAID PLUG MEANS AND SAID PLUNGER ON THE UPSTROKE OF THE LATTER, SAID VACUUM SUBSTANTIALLY ASSISTING THE DOWNSTROKE OF SAID PLUNGER WHICH FOLLOWS; A PLUNGER STEM EXTENDING UPWARD FROM SAID PLUNGER; STEM SLEEVE MEANS PROVIDED IN SAID WALL FOR SLIDABLY RECEIVING SAID STEM; MEANS CONNECTING TO THE UPPER END OF SAID STEM FOR RECIPROCATING SAID PLUNGER IN SAID BARREL, THE SPACE IN SAID BARREL ABOVE SAID PLUNGER COMPRISING A PUMP CHAMBER; VALVE MEANS FOR ADMITTING WELL FLUID INTO SAID PUMP CHAMBER DURING A DOWNSTROKE OF SAID PLUNGER AND DIRECTING SAID FLUID FROM SAID PUMP CHAMBER INTO THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID TUBULAR BODY LOCATED ABOVE SAID WALL DURING THE FOLLOWING UPSTROKE OF SAID PLUNGER, SAID PLUNGER BEING HOLLOW, AND COMMUNICATING AT ITS UPPER END WITH SAID PUMP CHAMBER; AND CHECK VALVE MEANS CLOSING THE LOWER END OF SAID PLUNGER TO DOWNWARD FLUID FLOW THEREFROM BUT ADMITTING FLUID UPWARDLY INTO SAID PLUNGER FROM BENEATH THE LATTER. 